Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) suspended his presidential campaign this weekend, following his second-place finish in Iowa Monday. The governor endorsed former President Donald Trump, calling him the best opportunity to stop the political left and a number of issues he linked to American decline.
DeSantis said that following the Iowa caucus, he and his family deliberated what to do next. He added that if there “was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome,” he would have stayed in the race.
“But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” he said.
The Florida governor said that it was “clear” that a majority of Republicans “want to give Donald Trump another chance.” He said that Republicans saw Trump’s time in the White House as “stymied by relentless resistance and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him.”
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
– Winston Churchill pic.twitter.com/ECoR8YeiMm
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 21, 2024
“While I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear. I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis further said that the Republican Party could not go back to the former “guard of yesteryear,” calling it “a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism” represented by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R).
“The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology, are over,” he said.
DeSantis’ exit will likely have an immediate impact on the race ahead of next week’s important New Hampshire Republican primary. Right now, Trump leads Haley in polling, while DeSantis clocked in at a distant third.
With DeSantis exiting the race, it is likely that many of his supporters will heed his statement and back Trump over Haley. While DeSantis criticized Trump during the campaign, he was also engaged in a much more acrimonious series of exchanges with Haley.
